I may be very old fashion, but I still like to talk to people on the phone…or better yet, face to face! Texting is ok, but I like to hear a person’s voice and interact in a more personal way. At the beginning of time God could have been silent, but He chose to speak through prophetic disclosure. But then Jesus Christ was born into the world, making a way for all of us to have an intimate relationship with our Savior. No longer did we have to hear about God…we could experience Him for ourselves.
Tag: belief in Jesus
Mark 7:33 ” After He took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put His fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue.”
Jesus used His own saliva several times in the Bible to heal. In John 9:6 it says, “Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.” In Mark 8:23 it says, “He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him, Jesus asked, ‘Do you see anything?’ ” So why did Jesus do this very primal act? We know that Jesus was fully man but also fully God…and within His saliva was His DNA. DNA that held His chromosomes…His genetic information. But the spit Jesus smeared on these men held something much more powerful… it held within it the very essence of God.
John 21:17 ” Jesus said, ‘Feed My sheep.’ “
The Lord’s commission to “Feed My sheep” is without exception for all Believers. But for all of you who have been around livestock and done chores, you know that it can be very frustrating moving and feeding animals. They don’t want to go where you want them to…they’re noisy, dirty, stinky and pushy. And on top of that, daily chores are mundane, boring, and at times unnerving when the animals act up. You find yourself saying, “I wish someone else would do this!” But “Feed My sheep” means much more than just giving nourishment. For God, it means shepherding, tending, guarding and leading a group of at times unruly people. People that you can tenderly lead to (Living) water, but then watch as they refuse to drink. That’s when discouragement can set in, but remember it’s not about you, so don’t take it personally… just continue to do the chores you’ve been called to.
John 4:11 ” ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.’ “
Jesus had just offered the Samaritan woman Living Water, but by her observation…He had no means of drawing water from Jacob’s well. We seem to quickly revert back to our humanness anytime we doubt that Jesus can really do what He says. We question if He’s in touch with reality or even realizes the gravity of our circumstances. Subjectively, our biased opinion says, “I can’t see how You can possibly do this Lord.” But if we put aside our humanness and instead take Jesus at His word…miracles will happen.
John 11:7-8 ” Then He said to His disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’ ‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews tried to stone You, and yet You are going back there?’ “
The disciples thought Jesus was confused and making a mistake for wanting to go back to a place where He had almost been killed. But where they were coming from was a very incorrect and sorely limited understanding, perception, and interpretation of just who Jesus was and what He could do. Psalm 18:30 tells us that, “As for God, His way is perfect.” Nothing that God has done or will ever do is a miscalculation or blunder. His Will in your life is faultless, flawless, and correct in every detail…and His timing is always perfect.
Proverbs 16:7 ” When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies live at peace with him.”
When the Holy Spirit is deeply embedded in you and what you do, the Lord takes great delight. But you also need to remember that it’s about the people you touch, not about the things you think you need to accomplish. Projects are wonderful…outreach into the community, volunteer work, leading Bible Studies, etc. But they only become notches in your gun if that’s the sole reason you’re doing them. Sorry to say, but touching others for Christ isn’t about you at all. It’s about demonstrating God’s love in tangible ways to others and pointing them towards Jesus.
Matthew 6:27 ” Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “
In our minds, we’d love to have it…the perfect Christmas, complete with bells and mistletoe, gifts and family. But it usually doesn’t work out that way, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas stress takes over and we find ourselves focused on the wrong things. We’re worshipping the problems by worrying…we’re devoting ourselves to a crazy schedule out of desperation…and we’re putting up on a pedestal the to-do list only we think must get done. Quit fretting and stewing over the small stuff…Christmas will happen with or without every detail being done and it will be perfect in its imperfect way. For if you think about it…there has been only one “perfect” Christmas…and it happened in all places – a cow shed.
Matthew 15:27 ” Yes, Lord, she said, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
In this story, a Canaanite woman has approached Jesus asking Him to heal her demon possessed daughter. At first Jesus is kind, but firmly tells her, “I’ve been sent to help the Jews.” But she’s undeterred with her request, so He then says to her, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” For most, that kind of rebuff would have stop them…but not her! Yes, she thoroughly understands what Jesus is saying, but she also knows that He’s the only one who can save her daughter. It’s by her tenacity and tremendous faith…a faith that Jesus recognizes in her, that her request is granted.
James 2:1 ” My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.”
As Christians, we are to be imitators of Christ. We are to follow His lead in how to deal with people we come in contact with daily. This requirement of impartiality towards others is displayed throughout the Bible…making it very clear, “God does not show favoritism.” Partiality and bias are easy traps to fall into, unless we make a conscious decision to follow the pattern of Jesus instead. For if you boil favoritism down…all you get is the ugliness of bigotry and prejudice.
I Chronicles 16: 35 ” Cry out, ‘Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliever us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’ “
The thread of our Lord Jesus Christ is woven throughout the Scriptures. The Hebrew word in this OT verse for “Save us!” is Yasa. The personal name of Jesus comes from this root word, Yasa. This can be found in Matthew 1:21 as the angel of the Lord is revealing to Joseph the miraculous conception of his soon-to-be wife. “Mary will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” “Save us!” can also be found later in Matthew as Jesus is making His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the crowds along the road are crying out “Hosanna!” or “Save us!” Jesus was and still is the Savior of our souls and the world today.
Safetypinlove 